Wicked Game
by P3
Summary: RENAMED. AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep.
1. The Demon's Back in Town

**Character Information, so that it's easier for you.**

**Piper Halliwell- Molecular Inhibition, Molecular Combustion, Phasing.  
Leo Wyatt- Orbing, Healing, Sensing, Glamour.  
Prudence Melinda Halliwell- Orbed Telekinesis, Astral Projection, Orbing, Sensing, Partial Healing, Glamour.  
Perry Andrew Halliwell- Molecular Inhibition, Molecular Combustion.**

**Phoebe Halliwell- Premonitions, Levitation, Empathy, Electro-Mental Ignitions.  
Pandora Adelie Ayres- Premonitions, Shimmering, Fireballs.  
Everett James Halliwell- Telepathy, Thermal Balls.  
Paris Noelle Halliwell- Deflection, Cloning.**

**Paige Halliwell- ****Orbed Telekinesis, Astral Projection, Orbing, Sensing, Partial Healing, Glamour.  
Peyton Matthew Halliwell- Force Field Generation, Invisibility, Cloaking, Orbing**

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**Wicked Game  
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep. **

**Chapter One: The Demon's Back in Town.**

The skies were painted with dark clouds that carried heavy rain, drums of thunder, and shows of lightning. A storm was coming, a strong one, possibly the strongest one that San Francisco had seen all summer. Phoebe Halliwell tightened the coat around her torso, her long, curly brown hair flapping wildly in the wind.

She watched the skies. Something about them made her uneasy- a feeling in the pit of her stomach that didn't come with anything good. But she ignored it as the sound of a car door shutting caught her attention. Phoebe watched as her eighteen year-old daughter climbed out of her car and began the ascent of the stairs leading up to the Halliwell Manor.

Eighteen years ago, Phoebe had miraculously given birth to twins, Paris and Everett. They were both a spitting image of their mother- dark brown hair, mocha eyes, silk skin. They were her everything when the world gave her nothing.

Jason left her shortly after their birth, not being able to cope with the thought of having witches as children. Phoebe couldn't say that she was at all surprised. He had left her once because of her heritage and she never doubted that he wouldn't do it again. But she didn't become depressed over the loss of a guy that couldn't support her kids just because of who they were. Instead, she became stronger.

Paris smiled when she saw her mother- the two Halliwell witches shared the same smile, even. Everett had inherited Jason's jaw line, however, and whenever he smiled, she felt like she was twenty years younger.

"It's going to storm soon," Paris said, giving her mother a hug. "We better get inside."

Paris followed her mother into the Manor, where the sweet scent of dinner was wafting through the many rooms. She immediately saw her Uncle Leo heading towards the kitchen; he was a typical man, Whitelighter or not. She smiled to herself and took her coat off, hanging it on the rack behind the door.

"Where's your brother?" Phoebe asked.

"He called and said he's running late at work. They've been keeping him overtime lately."

Everett, like his mother, had taken an interest in journalism. While majoring in journalism, he had taken over Phoebe's column when she had retired- and he was only eighteen.

"I'll tell Piper. She'll be furious if someone doesn't show up on time and she doesn't know." Phoebe gave her daughter a warm smile before heading towards the kitchen.

- - - -

"You can't hurt me," the young witch said, obvious fear in his voice. He stumbled against the brick wall of the old building, the building which the gang of warlocks had driven him to.

"Obviously, we can," the leader of the warlocks growled. There were five in all, and though they all had their unique details, each of them had a red tear-drop shaped marking at the corner of their left eye. "If we couldn't hurt you, then you wouldn't be running."

The witch smirked and suddenly went invisible.

"Nice trick, witch," one of the warlocks snarled. "But not good enough." The warlock rose his hand and a red light surrounded it. The witch became invisible again.

Realizing he was visible again, the witch's eyes shifted to the warlocks. "What'd you do?"

"It's called power absorption. A neat little trick I learned from a witch not too long before we found you."

"Paige!"

The warlocks all smirked as a bright blue light illuminated the small alley way. Paige, now in her late forties and with graying brown hair, materialized beside the witch. She looked at the warlocks and then to her charge. "Kristian, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. "They absorbed my power."

Paige turned to the warlocks. "Why didn't you kill him?"

The leader chuckled. "Shouldn't you be glad we didn't kill your precious charge?"

The Charmed One crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I've been in this business long enough to know that five warlocks against one witch with a passive power is a little overkill. Now, see, when you don't kill him right away with the powers I know you've got, it leads me to believe you've got something else up your sleeve. Now, don't hate me if I'm correct…"

Paige's sentence was cut short as a demon shimmered in; Paige gasped. Standing in front of her was the tall, dark, handsome, and evil demon that she had hoped she'd never seen again. Without saying anything, she sliced the air with her hand and yelled "Cole!"

In a flurry of orbs, the demon once known as Belthazar was thrown into the warlocks. He stood up slowly and dusted himself off.

"Now is that anyway to treat your ex-brother-in-law?" he said with a smirk.

Paige waved her hand towards Kristian and he orbed away. "You said you'd never show your face here again. You promised Phoebe."

"I'm a demon, Paige. Do you really think I'd keep my promise?" He drew his right arm back and opened his hand, summoning an energy ball. He threw one towards Paige and several in succession.

"Energy balls!" Paige yelled. In orbs, the energy balls flew towards the warlocks and vanquished them. She sliced the air again and Cole went flying backwards, again accompanied with orbs.

Cole stood up and grunted. "You've come a long way with your powers, I see."

"Oh, you have no idea." A cluster of orbs surrounded Paige and she astral projected behind Cole. She rose her hand and sent him flying again, but this time, she returned to her body and did the same, so he went flying with twice the force. "This is a warning to you and all of your demon friends," she said, hatred embedded in her voice. "If you come near my sisters or our children, we will vanquish you. And no one's holding back anymore." With that, she disappeared.

"That's right, Paige. No one's holding back."

- - - -

"What are we having for supper?"

Piper jumped as the voice pierced the silence of the kitchen. She turned around, her hands extended and palms open, ready to freeze or blow up- whichever came first. She caught her breath when her daughter came to view, with a smirk on her face and her hands on her hips.

"Prudence Melinda! I told you not to orb when my back is turned!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Mel answered. Her golden brown hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail and her green eyes were those of her fathers. At nineteen, Mel was the oldest of the new Halliwell generation- one of the reasons for naming her after her late aunt and her great grandmother.

She leaned back on the counter, her elbows resting on it. "So, what _are _we having for supper?"

"Roast beef, your father's favorite." Piper went to the sink and began washing her hands.

"I thought lasagna was dad's favorite."

Piper sighed. "He's a man, most food is his favorite."

Mel and Piper laughed and switched their gazes to the incoming bright lights filling the room. Paige and her son, Peyton, materialized. Peyton was the result of the marriage of Paige and her long-time flame, Glenn. He had Paige's light complexion but Glenn's dark hair and dark eyes. He was only sixteen, but he looked at least two years his senior.

"Hey sis," Paige said, smiling.

"What is it?" Piper replied sternly, planting her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"You're flustered. And you're smiling like you're drunk. Something's wrong."

"She's right, Paige. You have that 'I-have-something-to-tell-you-but-I'm-not-gonna' look that you get," Mel chimed.

"Oh come on, girls, don't you think after twenty odd years of fighting demons, I'd tell you if one attacked or not?" Paige retorted defensively.

"No," Piper said quickly. "And who said anything about demons?"

Paige smiled thinly. "If I tell you, you have _got _to promise not to tell Phoebe. This is big, and if she knows about this… well, it won't be good." Piper nodded. "Cole's back."

"Uncle Cole?" Peyton asked curiously.

"He was never your uncle," Piper snapped. Her face contorted into an angry mask, which wasn't unexpected when the subject of Cole was brought up. "We'll work on a vanquishing potion tomorrow. Nothing is ruining the family dinner."

"No need to, sis. I told him to stay away."

"Do you think that's actually going to work, Paige? How many times did he say that and came back? I would think by now, you'd know not to trust a demon."

"I was just giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"Since when did you give **_COLE _**the benefit of anything!" Piper shouted. A pot of vegetables on the stove exploded when she said the word Cole and Mel and Peyton jumped. Piper put her hand on her forehead and looked at the decimated pot. "We'll deal with this tomorrow. Mel, Peyton, do not tell this to anyone. Not even your cousins. Got it?"

"Yeah," the cousins said in unison.

"Okay, let's get this damned supper started."

- - - -

Phoebe hurried to the door after the third knock had been given. She opened it and a wide smile spread over her face. Billie was now in her late forties, but she kept the same blonde hair and blue eyes. As she approached thirty, she met a male witch named Atley, and they got married. Three years later, they had Ryleigh.

"Phoebe, it's good to see you." Billie wrapped her arms around Phoebe and hugged her. Atley followed her in, carrying the raven-haired Ryleigh. His smile was to die for- no one could deny that- and he had shaggy black hair with dark eyes- and Ryleigh had been gifted two gorgeous parents, as she was the most beautiful little witch in the world.

"It's been months," Atley said, shooting one of his all-famous smiles.

Piper, Leo, Mel, Paige, Peyton, and Paris entered the foyer. They all smiled and greeted Billie and her family.

"Where are Perry and Everett?" Billie asked.

"Everett's still at work," Piper replied. "Perry is…"

- - - -

He flicked his wrists, his palms open, but the outcome wasn't what he had hoped for. Instead of blowing up, the warlock was blasted in the chest with an explosion and he stumbled backward. Perry flicked his wrists again and again, as the warlocks tried to advance, but each time, they grew stronger against his power.

"Mel! Get up here, quick!" he called from the attic. He flicked his wrists again and this time, the warlocks froze.

A flurry of orbs announced Mel's arrival. "What, what is it?" she asked. Perry pointed towards the six frozen warlocks. "Oh! Oh! Warlock!" With a slice of her hand, Mel sent the warlock closest to them flying.

The warlock slammed into the attic wall, hard, and slumped to the ground with a grunt. He opened his hand and conjured an energy ball, throwing it at the male witch.. Perry flashed his palms and it froze before it hit him.

The warlocks began to move- which meant that they were fighting and winning against Perry's power. "Mel, get us out of here!" Perry yelled. Mel took her brother's hand and orbed out. The energy ball he had frozen unfroze and hit the wall behind them.

- - - -

Mel and Perry materialized downstairs, where Piper and the rest of the family were waiting impatiently. Perry instantly fell on the bottom step of the stairs, exhausted from trying to blow up the warlocks with no success. He put his hands on either side of his head and tried to catch his breath. "Warlocks, six of them. Tear drop-shaped marking at the corner of their left eyes. Could be some kind of clan or brotherhood."

"There's six of them and eleven of us. They don't stand a chance," Billie said, putting her hands on her hips and looking at the sisters.

Phoebe sighed. "No, warlocks are usually smarter than to attack a family full of witches while they're all together. And if they are stupid enough to attack a house full of witches, then they'd be down here already."

"It's a trap," Paris said.

"Maybe. They might just be setting something up," Phoebe replied.

"They're still up there," Paige said, sensing for them.

Piper said, "Paige, Billie, astral project into the attic. See if you can't scare them away."

"I'll go too," Paris said. "My clone can't be hurt by powers."

Billie's and then Paige's head slumped forward and they astral projected out of their bodies, into the attic. Paris summoned her clone with them.

Phoebe was right, the warlocks were planning something. When Billie, Paige, and Paris appeared in the attic, they had all unfrozen and were turned towards the attic door, waiting for them. The center one- the one Mel had attacked earlier- had a smug look on his face.

"So you found us out," he said, smiling again. "Oh well. Doesn't matter- we've done what we were supposed to do. This is just us having fun."

"Since when do warlocks have fun?" Billie snapped. She snapped her fingers and the leader flew backwards, similar to what had happened to him when Mel had attacked, but with more force.

Another warlock sliced the air with his arm and sent a telekinetic blast toward the trio; Paris held up her hand and a small blue shield appeared over her palms. She deflected the attack back towards the warlocks, and three of them went flying backwards.

"Warlocks!" Paige yelled. The two standing warlocks were caught up in orbs and thrown backwards.

The main warlock stood up and dusted himself off, an angry mask covering his face where once he had a smug smile. "He'll be back, just so you know. Cole doesn't respond well to threats."

Paris's mouth dropped open. "Cole?"

The warlocks blinked out of the attic. Simultaneously, a clasp of thunder sounded and a heavy downpour started.


	2. Pandora's Box

**Wicked Games  
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep. **

**Chapter Two- Pandora's Box.**

She let out a frustrated sigh. Papers were scattered on her desk in front of her, papers from weeks ago that she had totally forgotten about. She sifted through them in a rush, making the mess worse than it had already been- _where could it have gone? _She had landed this job by luck, and by talent, and she couldn't afford to miss a deadline so early in her career.

She cursed under her breath. No matter how many times she looked through them, the paper just wasn't there. And the deadline was in thirty minutes.

There was a soft knock and the door. Without looking up, she said, "Come in."

The door opened and her eyes drifted towards the person who entered: Everett Halliwell. The eighteen year old boy who occupied the office next to her. As far as she knew, he had just graduated high school a few months ago and he was now in college working towards a degree in journalism. How'd he do it? It took her years to get into an actual newspaper with a good standing reputation.

"Hey Adelie," he said with a charming smile. "Having problems?"

"Yeah, I can't seem to find my draft. I had it here yesterday, I swear to God I did." She ran her hand through her long, black hair and sighed again.

"Try the top, right corner. Under last week's reader statistics."

Everett smiled at her again and turned and left her office, closing the door behind him. She bent over her desk and sifted through the papers on the corner. At the bottom of the pile was her draft. She chuckled softly to herself and watched the young journalist leave the office.

- - - -

Everett climbed into the car and let out a heavy sigh. The uneasy feeling in his stomach wasn't getting any better- something bad was about to happen and he knew it. The telepath wasn't at all clairvoyant, not in the least, but he had been able to develop a predisposition about certain things. And he had a bad feeling about arriving at the manor- and he rather highly doubted that it was because he was so late.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, pushing and holding a button on the side to turn it on. Immediately, a call came through. He flipped it open and answered. "Everett Halliwell."

"It's about damn time you answered your phone."

Everett smiled as his twin sister's voice came through. "Sorry, sis. I had to turn it off- I didn't want any 'family emergencies' to stop me from meeting my deadline."

"Yeah, well, we have one." Paris's voice sounded annoyed; he couldn't tell if it was aimed towards him or whatever had happened.

"Demon?"

"Worse," Paris replied. "Cole."

Paris heard her brother become short of breath. "C-Cole?" he stuttered.

"Yeah, he's back. He's been sending demons left and right- I barely got away from them to call you."

"So that means-"

"He's more powerful than he used to be."

"All right, I'm on my way. Be safe, Paris."

Everett heard the line go dead and he tried to control his breathing. Phoebe's demon ex wasn't a secret that she hid from her children, but there was one thing she didn't let them know. A secret, in fact, that had been kept from everyone in the family- and it was only by accident that Everett knew it.

- - - -

Heavy rain pounded against the Manor windows, as if it had nothing better to do. The sky outside was darker than dark- a sea of nothingness with promises of danger. The rain pounding against the windows also pounded against Phoebe Halliwell's temples. She sat at the kitchen table, nursing her headache with a less-than-comforting cup of herbal tea.

The demon attacks had finally stopped, thank god, and the kids had all bunked up in the Manor's living room. Everett had defeated the last of the attackers when he arrived- Cole must've gotten the hint that they weren't simply a family of three witches anymore.

But, if he was as smart as she knew he was, he would have known that long in advance.

An uneasy feeling had sifted through Phoebe's heart the moment she had heard of Cole's return. And she knew why. It was the same feeling that she had got every time he had come back… A feeling of dread, of betrayal, of being helpless to do anything but sit by and watch what he might do.

But would he really have the guts to go after her? She didn't think so. He hadn't tried before, when he came back before the family had started to grow, but there wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't this time. The Cole she had known twenty years ago wasn't the same one they were facing today- Cole would never have hurt her back then.

It seemed like all the rules and all of the pretenses were thrown out the window this time. Cole had purposely lured Paige to her charge with his underlings to send Phoebe a message. _I'm back._

His message had certainly gotten through to Phoebe, as well as her sisters and the kids. But they wouldn't hold back like they did twenty years ago. If it was a fight he wanted, then she'd fight with everything she had. And if he wanted Pandora, then he better try like hell to get past her. She wouldn't let him get to their daughter, there was no way.

Phoebe snapped out of her thoughts when Everett entered the room, his eyes red because of lack of sleep. She smiled at her son. "You're supposed to be in bed, young man."

"Don't worry about me, mom, I'm used to late nights. It's you I'm worried about." The young witch opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, then took a seat across from his mother at the table. "You haven't had an ounce of sleep, have you?"

Phoebe shook her head. "But it's okay, Everett. You forget- I had your job before you did."

"But that's not why you're sleeping."

Phoebe looked at the mug of tea that was cupped in her hands. Her son was right. She had known that either Paris or Everett would approach the situation eventually- she had expected Everett more so than his sister, for he had inherited his intuition straight from her.

"You're afraid, mom. I can feel it- even without being a telepath."

Phoebe paused for a moment and sighed. "You're right. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that whatever Cole's planning will be too much for your aunts and me. I'm afraid that Cole is more powerful than we can even imagine, that he is-"

"Going to go after Pandora."

The mug dropped out of her hands and onto the tabletop, busting into several chunks and spilling the tea everywhere. Phoebe's mouth was agape, her hand on her chest. She had lost her voice.

"H-how do you know-"

"When I was first coming into my telepathy, I couldn't control it. Remember?" His mother nodded, but only slightly. "Well it was our fifth birthday, me and Paris, and I remember that you were wishing more than anything that she could be a part of our family. I knew that it had been a secret kept from the family for a reason, even though I was young. I've never said anything about it to anyone."

Tears began to roll down Phoebe's cheeks. "I wanted to keep her, Everett. I did… more than anything in the world. But I-"

Everett reached out and touched his mother's hand. "I know, mom. I know."

- - - -

Cole rested his hand on the railing and switched his weight from one foot to the other. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, but he ignored it and watched impatiently as the elevator began to ascend. It had been a long while since he had been nervous about anything… In the Underworld, showing nerve was your one way ticket to Hell- literally. And Cole had been head of the Underworld long enough that he had lost most of his human emotions.

Most of them.

He let go of the railing and crossed his arms over his chest. Time seemed to go at a decelerated rate when he watched the numbers light up as the elevator passed the floors.

Pandora was on floor sixteen, or so his men had told him. And they knew better than to be wrong, so he had faith in the information received. Correction: partial faith.

This was a rare time when Cole didn't have a plan. Sure, he had gotten lost in deep thought about how he was going to approach his daughter- he had done that many times. Yet, when the time came for him to actually make his move, he froze. He couldn't force her to believe him. "Hi, I'm your long lost father, and I'm also the Source of all evil." No, that wouldn't settle right with anyone, let alone a twenty-five year old girl who knew nothing about her parents or her heritage.

Of course, the suggestion had been made that he take her by force and have a dark priest or priestess turn her evil with dark magic. But that wasn't what Cole wanted.

A witch or a demon or a warlock had to choose what side he played for. Yes, they could be swayed by dark magic- and yes, that could be an easy way out of a hard situation. But Cole would never be satisfied, for he wouldn't accurately know that Pandora chose him over her mother. His ex-wife. His beautiful ex-wife…

Cole shook the thought of Phoebe out of his mind when the elevator door opened. He cleared his mind of all thoughts, of all possibilities, and headed for apartment 163.

- - - -

Everett had continued his promise not to tell anyone about Pandora the next morning, though secretly he wondered how long it would be able to stay a secret. Cole had come back for a reason, more powerful than he had even been before, and that reason, Everett thought, might just be to get Pandora on his side.

A tense silence had moved through the Manor overnight. Simply put, the Halliwells were afraid. Fear might have been the one thing that they had in common, if nothing else. Fear of Cole. Fear of losing a cousin. A sister. A brother. A nephew or a niece. A family that, during times like these, became greatly appreciated because you never knew how much you loved someone until their life was at stake.

Phoebe watched as Piper moved into the kitchen without noticing her. Her eyes were red with lack of sleep, yet she began brewing coffee without delay.

"We're going to need something stronger than coffee," Phoebe said quietly, running her hand through her hair.

Piper turned around quickly. "Okay, we need to make a rule about sneaking up on PIPER in this house." The eldest Halliwell turned back to the coffee maker, pressed a button, and walked over to the kitchen table and sat across from her sister. "You've been here all night, haven't you?"

Phoebe nodded. "I couldn't get to sleep. Not that I tried."

"I don't think anyone slept in this house," Piper replied. She reached out and touched Phoebe's hand. "We'll get through this. I promise. We always have before."

"But this time, it's different, Piper. I can feel it. He's not holding back this time. He's after something."

"But what? What could he possibly want with us after all this time?"

Phoebe paused and looked at her hands. Ever since she had become a witch, her hands had been the source of her premonitions. And now, as she aged, they were slightly wrinkled but still held their power, if not more. She sighed aloud. There wasn't going to be another chance to tell the truth. "Our daughter."

Piper stormed through the house, into the living room, where the cousins were sitting on the furniture, barely awake. Tears strolled down her face, caused by a feeling of being betrayed or of anger, she didn't know. She made her way through the foyer to the stairs, where she spun around to face her younger sister.

"I can't believe you," she shouted. "I can't believe you'd keep something like that from us, your sisters."

"Piper, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"What's going on?" Mel asked as she walked into the foyer, followed by Perry, Paris, Everett, and Peyton.

"Your aunt has big news," Piper retorted, her eyes not leaving Phoebe. "Go ahead, Phoebs, tell them."

Phoebe turned toward the kids, but her eyes wouldn't leave her own two children. Tears began to stream down her face, though she remained silent.

"Mom-"

Phoebe rose her hand to stop Everett. She took a deep breath. At that moment, more than ever, she wished she could take it all back. She wished that none of it had happened- meeting Cole, sleeping with him, giving birth to Pandora. But it was her past, her story, and there was no way she could escape it now. She tried to control her breathing, but it wasn't doing any good, and sharp pains went through her chest as she took jagged breaths.

"Mom, I'll explain it to them," Everett said, wrapping his arms around his mother and hugging her tightly. He felt her nod slightly and he left the embrace. He motioned for his sister and cousins to follow him into the living room.

A bright blue light then flooded the foyer and Leo appeared. He looked at Piper. Her hands were on her hips, her face was contorted into that of an angry mask. The tears had stopped, though they still stained her cheeks. Her eyes didn't leave Phoebe.

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

"Phoebe and Cole have a daughter," Piper replied. "A twenty-five year old daughter."

Leo looked at Phoebe, whose back was still towards Piper. He said, "That would mean-"

"That she had her when Prue was still alive. She hid it from us, Leo!"

Phoebe twisted around towards her sister. "I'm sorry, Piper, all right! I know I made a mistake! I've lived with it day after day, ever since I gave her to that family. I'm sorry I hid it from you and Prue and Paige, but I didn't know what else to do at the time. Pandora was half witch, half demon, and I knew that she would have been a curse to the family- in your eyes, anyways. So I bound her powers and gave her away."

"Piper, Phoebe-"

"Leo, not now!" Piper shouted. Leo flinched and looked at the ground. Then he orbed out of the Manor.

The tension filled the room like a thick liquid, threatening to kill one or both of the sisters before they could say anything.

"Do you really think Cole is after her?" Piper asked finally, her eyes now on something in another room.

"Yes," Phoebe replied quietly. "He wanted to keep her, but I…"

"We need to unbind her powers before he gets to her, so when he does, she can defend herself." Piper turned around and climbed the stairs towards the attic. Phoebe followed her.

- - - -

Adelie set down her coffee and her copy of the paper when she heard the knocks at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone. She made her way through the cozy apartment. As she approached the door, a sharp pain went throughout her entire body and she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach.

In a matter of seconds, the pain was gone and Adelie was back on her feet. She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again, as if impatient. She gripped the doorknob and suddenly, her body felt like it was being pulled a thousand different ways.

_A tall, dark haired man summoned some kind of light in his hand and threw it at Everett. The young journalist screamed as his body began to be covered in bolts of electricity, and then he disappeared. Dead._

Adelie opened the door quickly to find the stranger's fist was up against the door, getting ready to knock again. Her breath caught in her chest. Standing in front of her was the man she had just seen kill her coworker.

"Does Pandora Ayres live here?" he asked.


	3. A Little Less Hocus Pocus

**Wicked Game  
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep. **

**Chapter Three: A Little Less Hocus Pocus, A Little More Witches of Eastwick.**

Adelie was barely able to respond to the stranger's question. "Yes, I'm Pandora Ayres," she replied quietly. The image of this man killing Everett kept replaying in her mind, making it hard for her to concentrate on her words. "But I go by Adelie," she finally managed, after what seemed like hours of silence. "W-Who are you?"

"My name is Cole," he replied. "I need to talk to you about something very important. If you'd let me come in…"

"Right now's not a good time," she said quickly. She narrowed her eyes on him. No one had ever called her Pandora, and even less actually knew that it was her real name. She had always wondered why her foster parents didn't change it. "How'd you know my name?"

Cole mentally scorned himself. Again, a plan would have been better. He never was a fan of improvising. "I can explain if you'd just let me in. I'll only take a minute of your time."

Adelie paused. Nothing promised that whatever she had seen when she touched the doorknob was the truth. As far as she knew, Everett was alive and kicking, and this man was as innocent as the next. But she had to find out for herself. Something deep inside her, in her heart, told her to trust her vision. Not this Cole. "I'm sorry."

She closed the door in his face, though softly.

Cole growled, a demonic tone coming through because of his anger. He disappeared in an eruption of flames.

- - - -

Paige stared at her sister. That was all she was able to do after she had been told what had been kept from her. She didn't say a word for at least a couple minutes, but her eyes were more piercing than anything she could ever say. The whitelighter-witch was hurt, yes, but she still loved Phoebe. And she was having a hard time seeing why she would do such a thing.

But Paige was a Whitelighter. Moreover, she was a sister. And now, maybe more than ever, her sister needed her guidance. And she'd be there for her no matter what.

"React later, Paige," Piper said. "We've got to get to Pandora before Cole."

Piper flipped through the Book of Shadows furiously, looking for any information on the warlocks that had attacked the earlier day. She was only half paying attention to the old, worn pages of the book, though, and a voice in the back of her mind whispered _calm down, concentrate. _But she ignored it and kept flipping.

Phoebe knew what her sister was doing: keeping her hands busy. She had done it for as long as the psychic could remember, a trick she had learned from Grams. God, that had been so long ago. She took some comfort in the fact that some things never changed- Piper's coping mechanism, the way she panicked and put herself through hell because she didn't know any better. Phoebe had seen her sister in this state many times, but this time, this time it was different. It was her fault.

Piper suddenly stopped and stared down at the open book. Paige and Phoebe joined her, one sister on each side of her. A picture of one of the warlocks that had attacked a day earlier took up the top right corner of the page.

Piper read aloud from the page. "Warlocks of Tempest, the only known clan of warlocks. They've killed witches for centuries and stolen their powers. They cultivate in this power and train themselves.."

"This is in Prue's handwriting," Phoebe said, running a finger down the side of the page.

"Okay, so we know now that Cole's directing a whole clan of warlocks," Paige said. "That means he has gained rank in the past twenty years."

"We need to get to Pandora fast," Piper said.

Downstairs, Everett left the confines of the kitchen to take a break from all the emotions he was receiving from his sister and their cousins. Confusion, anger, fear- he couldn't block them all out. For a moment, he pondered about heading upstairs and checking on his mother and aunts- but he quickly relinquished the thought. If Paris and his cousins were taking it this hard, then he couldn't even begin to fathom what emotions were swirling around the attic.

He made his way through the living room and stopped at a window that faced the street. Though it was barely past eleven, the sky gave way to a nice, warm day; white tufts of clouds here and there, harmless entities that reminded him of childhood summers spent imagining them being animals and other objects.

Everett was snapped out of his daydream when heard a knock on the front door. He went to the foyer and opened the door.

On the other side was Adelie, his coworker from _The Bay Mirror. _Something about her was different, however. Her face wasn't the smile that seemed to come so natural to her. And her black hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail.

"Everett? Thank god."

Everett chuckled. "Adelie, I didn't expect you to be here. Right now's not really a good time…"

"Do you know a man by the name of Cole?"

Everett's breath caught in his chest. He took a few steps back and opened the door wider. "Come on in, Adelie."

She came in, sheepishly looking around the Manor but not taking any of it in. She turned around when Everett shut the door. "So, do you?"

"Uhh… why do you ask?"

Adelie looked down. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

She paused. Everett could tell that she was fighting with herself. Finally, she said, "I had a… vision. This man, Cole, he came to my apartment this morning and wanted to talk to me. I wouldn't let him in, but…" She looked at him. "When I touched the doorknob, I felt like I was going to puke. And I saw him kill you."

Everett didn't say anything. It all came to him, in that moment after her words had been processed in his mind. Adelie Ayres. Pandora Adelie Ayres. God, he had been working next to her for months and it hadn't even hit him. Now that he looked at her, he could see his- their mother in her, and Cole as well.

"I'll be right back, Adelie," he said quickly. "Don't go anywhere."

Moments later, Everett came down the stairs with his mother and his aunts. Once Phoebe's eyes drifted to Adelie, she stopped in her tracks and gasped. Before anyone said anything, three demons shimmered into the center of the foyer- Adelie screamed.

"Piper! Freeze her!" Paige yelled.

Piper flicked her wrists in Adelie's direction, but nothing happened. "What's going on?" Piper asked, panic in her voice.

"You can't freeze her," Phoebe said quietly. "She's family."

Piper looked at Phoebe, then at the demons. Simultaneously, Piper flicked her wrists and Paige slashed the air with her arm. One demon flew backwards in a flurry of orbs and the other exploded.

Everett summoned a thermal ball, a mixture of psychic and fire energy, in his palm and threw it at the demon that had been thrown backwards. He screamed as he was killed.

Phoebe levitated into the air and kicked the remaining demon to the ground. She kneeled beside him, putting her hands close to either side of his head. Electricity-like bolts traveled from her hands to his brain and he began to scream in pain. Then he exploded.

Piper, Paige, and Everett looked at Adelie as soon as what had just happened settled into their minds. Slowly, Phoebe stood and looked at her daughter.

"Oh my God," Adelie whispered. She longed to be home- and she suddenly shimmered there.

- - - -

When she reached solid ground, it felt as if her stomach was going to rise up her throat and out her mouth. Adelie held onto the kitchen counter and doubled over, coughing, trying to process what had just happened.

How did those three men just magically appear in the foyer? And how had those women defeated them? And what was with that purple fireball thing that Everett had held in his hand?

Oh God, she thought to herself. This was a headache waiting to happen.

- - - -

"Well, we found Pandora," Piper said, walking into the kitchen. She was followed by Paige, Phoebe, and Everett.

"More like she found us," Everett said, leaning against the island. Mel, Perry, Paris, and Peyton were sitting at the kitchen table. "I can't believe I was working with her. I had no idea."

"Well, we know she has her powers and that she's safe," Paige said.

"She may have her powers, but she doesn't know how to use them," Phoebe said. "She could've shimmered anywhere in the world."

"I doubt it," Everett said. "She probably wanted to be home… so that's where she shimmered."

"Wait, what happened?" Peyton asked.

"Pandora- who obviously goes by her middle name, Adelie- had a premonition that Cole killed me. She came to check up on me and three demons attacked. We used our powers in front of her and she kind of freaked, and shimmered away."

"Where do we go from here?" Mel asked.

"I can get her address at the office," Everett said. "Paris, you can come with me. We'll go to her apartment and try to explain things."

"I don't think she'll be too receptive," Piper replied.

"It's worth a shot," Paris said.

"Mel, Peyton, Perry, you three stay here," Paige said. She looked at her sisters. "We have a demon to deal with."

- - - -

Paris kept quiet. The fact that she had an older sister had hit her harder than anyone had expected- and no one had noticed. That was fine by her, she didn't want them to worry about her. Everett had always been the one to take charge- though she wasn't a pushover, she'd much rather keep everyone else safe. Defensive rather than offensive.

She followed her brother through the doors of _The Bay Mirror _office. The building was filled with the sound of ringing telephones and keyboards clacking. Everett muttered some short greetings to his coworkers and went straight for what Paris assumed was Adelie's office.

"We each have business cards," he explained to her. "So her address should be on her business card."

Paris just silently acknowledged the information and shut the door behind her as her brother searched their sister's desk.

"Calm down."

"What?" Paris asked.

"You're nervous," Everett said, without stopping the search. "I can feel it. Your nervous, scared, angry."

"I wish you would stay out of my head," she snapped.

Everett plucked a card from the mess of papers on the desk and turned around to face his sister. "I don't need to be a telepath to know what you're going through. I'm going through it too, sis." He took a step towards her. "I know you hate mom for keeping our sister from us, and I did too, at first. But she is our mother and she had her own reasons for doing what she did."

Paris sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm fine, really."

She was lying and he knew it. And she knew he knew that she was lying. But some things were better saved for later, when time allowed for them to be discussed.

Everett put on his all-famous smile and held up the card. "Let's go get our sister."

- - - -

"Table!"

The dining room table was covered in orbs and disappeared; it reappeared on its side, a cover for Mel, Perry, and Peyton. The trio quickly hid behind it when three energy balls were sent their way.

"And silly me thought it'd be easy to just stay home," Perry said. He rose his arms into the air and flicked his wrists blindly towards the five demons in the dining room. His blasts only hit one, but it only sent him stumbling backwards.

Mel counted to ten slowly before she stood up and stretched her arms out. "Energy balls!" Luckily, all five of the demons had energy balls in their palms. They disappeared and suddenly reappeared, flying towards their original masters.

Perry and Peyton stood up, a collective sigh of relief moving through them. But then five more demons materialized in front of them.

Peyton's hand shot up and his force field surrounded them. The demons summoned energy balls and threw them, but the force field neutralized them.

"Well, this is pretty much a stand-off," Mel said, her voice raised.

"Do you think you could let down your shield quick enough to let us attack?" Perry asked.

"No," Peyton replied. "They're not letting up at all."

"Then can you make so that our powers can go through your shield?" Mel asked, after hesitating a moment.

"I've never tried before."

"There's a first time for everything."

- - - -

"Cole!"

Paige's voice reverberated off of the mausoleum's walls. She stood in the center of the stone tomb and looked towards the sky.

"You're looking the wrong way," Piper said, walking towards her. "Besides, he can't hear you."

"Hopefully," Phoebe said quietly.

"Cole!" Paige shouted again. Once more, no response.

"Even if he could hear us, what do you plan to do, Paige?" Piper asked, her eyes scanning the mausoleum. "He's obviously more powerful than he used to be. The Power of Three might not be enough."

Paige sighed and looked at her elder sister. "When has the Power of Three never been enough? Damn it, Piper, stop being so pessimistic. Yeah, okay, Phoebe made a mistake. But she's come clean now and that's all that matters. She's still your sister. Nothing's changed."

Piper started to say something when Cole flamed into the mausoleum.

"You called?"

- - - -

Perry flicked his wrists, but the blast just hit the shield.

"Come on, Peyton," encouraged Mel. "You can do it."

The whitelighter-witch closed his eyes and concentrated. Perry flicked his wrists again and this time, the blast hit one of the demons in the chest.

"Yes!" shouted Mel. "Demon!" She sliced the air and a demon went flying backwards.

Perry flicked his wrists again and again and the demon finally blew up. He opened his palm and froze the remaining demons.

"Peyton, go invisible. Put your shield down. We'll move and surprise them from behind," Perry said.

The force field disappeared and so did Peyton. Perry and Mel moved behind the remaining four demons and took fighting stances. Perry unfroze them and delivered a roundhouse kick to the demon in front of him. He fell to the floor and growled.

Mel astral projected behind the demon she faced when he realized she was behind him. "Over here!" she called. He turned around and she sent him flying with orbs. Midair, Perry blew him up.

Peyton took a hold of an athame that he kept in his back pocket and sliced the demon's throat. He fell to the ground and burst into flames.

The last demon stood up and growled at the trio, then shimmered away.

- - - -

"Cole!"

Cole squinted his eyes when he felt the orbs cover him, the blinding light disorienting him as well as throwing him backwards. He hit the stone wall hard and slumped to the floor.

Piper flicked her wrists several times in secession and several blasts hit Cole's chest.

"Why isn't he dead yet?" Piper asked, panic in her voice. "We've hit him harder than we've ever done it before. I don't think even the Source could've put up with that."

Cole laughed and then stood up. "You're wrong, once again, Piper. I am the Source." He summoned a fireball in his palm and threw it at the sisters.

Phoebe pushed against the air with her arms and, using her empathy to tap into Cole's powers, sent the fireball back to him. He extinguished it before it hit him.

He summoned another one and threw it at Piper, but it phased through her. "Nifty little power, eh?" she said sarcastically. She opened her palms again and again. He stumbled backwards.

"Cole!" He disappeared in orbs again and appeared against the opposite wall.

"Damn it," he cursed, standing up. He straightened his black suit. "You're not going to hurt me. The only way you could come close is with Phoebe's mind link, and I highly doubt that she wants to get that close to me."

He smirked at Phoebe. She smirked back. Tapping into his powers again, she disappeared in flames and appeared behind him. She rose her hands to either side of his head, made the link, and started to kill him.

Cole strained to raise his arms and take a hold of hers. Once he gripped her, he flipped her over him, throwing her towards her sisters. Paige raised her hand and her sister disappeared in orbs, reappearing beside her, standing.

"I underestimated you," Cole growled, obviously still in pain. "A mistake I won't make again."

He began to flame out, but Phoebe stopped him by calling out his name. "I swear, if you go near our daughter one more time, I will kill you. We've vanquished the Source before, we're not afraid to do it again."

Cole's face sobered immediately. He disappeared.


	4. Daughter to Father

**Wicked Games  
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep. **

**Chapter Four: Daughter to Father.**

One, two, three knocks. Adelie hesitated before she opened the apartment door. The last time anyone had come to her home, he had been a murderer- a murderer with some kind of funky ability to throw light balls. And because of what she had seen when she was pulled into her vision, and the feeling that had plagued her gut since then, she had felt compelled to make sure Everett Halliwell was alright.

That had thrown her into the middle of something she didn't want to know about.

And trying to explain what she had seen at Everett's house had given her a migraine- on top of that, she had a bad feeling about all of this. She collapsed with her back against the door and closed her eyes; she hoped that whoever was knocking would go away.

But they didn't, and they knocked several more times, as if it was an urgent matter that she let them in. Adelie pushed herself off of the door and turned around, opening it quickly. Her heart began to beat at a heightened speed when Everett and Paris Halliwell met her eyes.

"Adelie…"

The black-haired beauty put her hand up as a warning. "Stay away from me, Everett!" she half-shouted.

"Calm down," Paris cooed.

Everett took a step and outstretched his own hand, but Adelie shrank away. "Adelie," he said quietly, "we need to talk to you."

"_Stay away._"

"Your life is in danger, Adelie. We can protect you."

"I _said _stay away!"

In one swift movement, Adelie drew her arm back and summoned a fireball in her palm; she threw her arm forward and launched it at the twins. Paris rose her palm and deflected it into a lamp.

"What was that?" Adelie asked with panic strewn about her words. She looked from the twins to her palms.

"Her powers," Paris said to Everett.

"If you come with us, we can explain everything."

"No!"

"Adelie!" Everett shouted. He hadn't meant to, but he needed her to comply. It was hard enough dealing with the fact that the sister that had been hidden from you all of your life was in trouble, without knowing that unless she trusted you, she was pretty much doomed. He continued, his voice quiet: "Adelie, please. I know you don't trust us right now- you don't trust anyone. But I'm not just your coworker. And Paris isn't just a stranger to you." He paused. "We're your brother and sister."

Adelie sat down on the edge of her couch. Her body was betraying her, allowing others to see her emotions. She placed her shaking hands on her thighs and squeezed, trying to get them to stop their quivering. A thousand thoughts were racing through her mind- _How could this be? How did everything go from being so simple to being so difficult? What did this mean?_

Everett and Paris had followed her into the apartment. They needed to get her to come with them to the Manor, or else Cole would try to get her again and this time, he might succeed.

Everett sat down on a chair across from his half-sister. "I should've told you sooner. But I didn't know who you were myself."

Adelie only nodded slightly. "So Phoebe and Cole are my parents?" She looked at Paris for her answer, and she nodded. "And you and Everett are my half-sister and half-brother?" Another nod. "And what happened at the house-"

Three demons shimmered into the apartment, stopping Adelie's words. Everett jumped up and rose his palm towards the trio. They fell to their knees, clutching their heads and screaming in pain.

"Everett!" Paris shouted; she had never seen her brother display such power, attacking from the inside out. Truth be told, it scared her.

The eighteen year-old witch dropped his arm and the attack. Once the demons realized what had happened, they stood up and summoned energy balls in their palms.

"Come on, Adelie," Paris said, taking the demon-witch by the arm and pulling her to the door of the apartment. "I'll explain everything on the way."

Adelie looked back, her heart pounding faster than it should have. "Everett-"

The demons threw their energy balls but Everett caught them telepathically and sent them towards their originators. Two of them hit, but the third energy ball was dodged by the demon.

Everett turned around and ran towards Adelie, pushing her out the doorway after Paris.

- - - -

Phoebe let go of her sister's hand as soon as they had orbed back into the Manor. She felt the migraine coming and cursed it. It was true- Cole was back and better than ever. How could he? How could he ruin her life _again_? He never gave up, that was for sure. Whether he was after her or her daughter, he'd never give up until he got one of them or he was vanquished.

_Vanquished._

Phoebe started up the stairs. When Piper and Paige questioned her, she replied without looking at them. "I'm getting the Source vanquishing spell from the Book."

Peyton helped his older cousin prop the table back onto all four legs and position it to its original spot. Though he didn't see why- obviously, demons attacks were going to be more than frequent since Cole was back, and they needed all the protection they could get- even if it was just a wooden table.

Perry rubbed his hands together as if he had gotten actual _work _done and smiled at the whitelighter-witch. "I just love being the youngest," he said. "We get to be the pick-up crew."

Peyton laughed and began to follow his cousin into the kitchen, where dinner was being prepared. As he crossed the small hallway that connected the kitchen to the dining room, a sharp pain moved through his stomach and made its way through his whole body. He felt to his knees and gasped for air- Perry spun around and shouted for his mother.

He felt hands on him, but didn't know who they belonged to. Suddenly, all he saw were orbs- and an abundance of them. And then he felt himself being lifted and taken away.

"Mel's gone too," Perry said as he entered the kitchen.

Piper was behind the stove- keeping her hands busy, as usual. Paige was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through the Book of Shadows. And Phoebe was sitting at the end of the table, consoling a cup of coffee.

"There's nothing in here about the demons who attacked earlier," Paige said, shutting the Book and sighing. "They were just low-level demons."

Perry nodded and walked over to stand beside his mother. "Mom, stop worrying. I'm sure they're fine- Paige said that she went through the same thing when she was summoned to become a Whitelighter."

"I know, but still, the Elders haven't really been a big fan of me and Leo from the start. Who knows what they'll do to Mel and Peyton." Piper pulled a piece of bay leaf from the stem and put it into the boiling pot. She sighed and looked towards the heavens. "Mel!" She waited several seconds, but nothing happened. "Prudence Melinda Halliwell, get your orbs down here!"

Leo orbed in. "She can't hear you, Piper," he said. He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Mel and Peyton _have _been summoned to become whitelighters. They'll be up there for a while."

Piper sighed again and slammed the counter with her palms. "But they're both too young! Prudence is only nineteen and Peyton is only sixteen."

"The Elders don't think their age is an issue. Because they grew up with their powers, and are more experienced with magic than you and your sisters were when you were their age, they have the potential to be good whitelighters. And now that Cole's back, the more protected witches are, the better."

"Is that why you've been gone all day?" Phoebe asked, looking at Leo with a look he'd only seen in her when she loved Cole. "Cole?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Seems that Cole is the new Source and that's not being taken well up there."

"Yeah, well, it's not going too well down here." Paige stood up and got a bottle of water from the fridge. "With two witches down, we need to be on our guards."

Paris held her sister's hand tightly, as if she was hanging from a cliff and her grip was the only way she'd survive. She barely knew Adelie, but even so, she knew that the twenty-five year-old needed all the help she could get.

The girls followed Everett into the Manor. "Anyone home?" he called.

"In here!" came Paige's voice from the kitchen.

Everett turned and looked at Adelie before progressing through the house. "Remember, Adelie. We're family. We're not here to hurt you."

Adelie nodded. She believed him- which was a surprise to even herself. A half an hour earlier, she hadn't been able to trust herself, let alone two people who claimed to be her brother and sister. But Paris had explained everything to her- magic, demons, witches, the whole story- and somehow, everything seemed right in her mind. But still, she was scared.

Adelie followed her siblings into the kitchen and felt a wave of embarrassment move over her.

Paige smiled at her. "Hello, honey. I'm Paige. Your aunt."

Adelie's eyes scanned the room. She was able to name all the people in the room going by the description that Paris had given her; Perry, Piper, and Leo- her cousin and her aunt and uncle; Paige, her aunt; and then Phoebe…

Phoebe had stood up at the sight of Adelie, immediately forgetting her own problems and focusing on her daughter. Mother and daughter stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. Then, without saying anything, Phoebe moved towards her and wrapped her arms around Adelie. Adelie, in turn, wrapped her arms around her mother. Tears began to fall.

In between sobs, Phoebe managed: "I'm so sorry, Adelie. I'm so, so sorry."

Before Adelie was able to respond, Cole appeared behind her in flames. Phoebe's eyes shot open when she felt the heat and she instinctively moved Adelie behind her.

"Cole, get out of my house," she said, drying her tears immediately.

"Oh, and what, miss the family reunion?" He smiled. She knew that smile, the one that deceived everyone. Even her. "I think not."

He summoned a fireball in his hand and threw it at his ex-wife; she held her hand out and channeled his power back at him. He caught it again and threw it towards Perry, Piper, and Leo; Perry flicked his wrists and froze it. Piper flicked her wrists and a small explosion knocked Cole stumbling.

"Phoebe! The spell!" Piper shouted.

Phoebe dashed for the pad of paper she had written the spell on, but Cole summoned a fireball and threw it at the paper. She cursed at him.

Several thermal balls hit Cole in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the curio cabinet in the corner. He disappeared and reappeared behind Adelie.

"Say hello to daddy," he said with a grin. He wrapped his arms around her and they disappeared in an uproar of flames.

Phoebe put her hand to her chest. "Oh no."

- - - -

Cole cursed as he was knocked backwards. Adelie's fist had hit him square in the jaw, cracking it and cutting his bottom lip. Black blood oozed from the cut. He regained his stance and smiled. "Feisty. Just like your mother."

"Shut up!" Adelie shouted.

"I don't think so. You see, I'm the Source of all evil. I don't have to listen to you or anyone else. And besides," He took several steps toward her. "I'm your father. _You're _supposed to listen to _me._"

"Never in a million years," Adelie retorted.

Cole turned his back on her and began pacing the room. Adelie took the chance to take in her surroundings; they were in some type of cavern or cave. She felt as if she should be cold, but nothing but heat was moving over her body. Four men- demons, she presumed- were standing at the entrance. _Obviously so I don't run, _she thought to herself.

"You know, I was going to give you the chance to choose your mother or me." He turned to her and his smile quickly disappeared. "But once you did choose Phoebe, then I knew I had to change you decision with the magic resourced to me." He took steps towards her again. "Unless, of course, you want to change your mind…"

Adelie drew her palm back and summoned a fireball. "Never in a million years would I join you! You said it yourself, you're the Source of all evil! And you're the reason Phoebe gave me up- you're the reason I never got to know her, or Everett, or Paris!" She took a deep breath. "I might be half of who you are, but I will never be you! And as far as I'm concerned, I'm not your daughter either!"

She launched the fireball at Cole- it hit him in the chance and he fell onto his back. The demons guarding the entrance stepped forward and summoned energy balls, but Adelie was quicker. She sent four fireballs to each of them, vanquishing them and shimmering out of the cave before Cole got to his feet.

"Damn it!" he shouted.


	5. Until the Day You Die

**Chapter Summaries:**

**Chapter One: The Demon's Back In Town **- Cole announces to Paige that he has made his return and begins his attack on the Charmed Ones and their family.  
**Chapter Two: Pandora's Box** - The attacks by Cole let up, but just by a little- and the entire family finds out about Cole's return. Everett consoles his mother and tells her that he knows her secret. The family also learns about Phoebe's daughter, Pandora, who Cole approaches for the first time.  
**Chapter Three: A Little Less Hocus Pocus, A Little More Witches of Eastwick** - Adelie refuses to talk to Cole because of the premonition she had. Adelie ventures to the Manor to warn Everett, but in doing so, she gets more than she bargained for. While Peyton, Mel, and Perry hold down the fort while demons attack, and Everett and Paris try to find their half-sister, The Charmed Ones confront their old foe.  
**Chapter Four: Daughter to Father** - Everett and Paris approach their half-sister and convince her to trust them. Mel and Peyton are summoned to follow in Leo and Paige's foosteps. Phoebe finally meets her long lost daughter, who is also kidnapped by her father.

**Chapter Summaries will be done every five chapters. Oh, and sorry for the short chapter ahead. Merely a transition chapter.**

**

* * *

**

**Wicked Game  
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep. **

**Chapter Five: Until The Day You Die**

A strange heat sifted through the Underworld, as it always had done. It seemed to penetrate everything- mind, body, soul. Something lurked in the atmosphere, something all-knowing, all-seeing. Some said it was some sort of demon- a prying demon, who liked to know everything about everyone. But the upper-levels of demons, warlocks, and other evil beings knew better. The Source was what lingered in the air. The fear that at any moment, you might be summoned into His presence, kept all of the underlings on their toes.

A fire ring spun around the barriers of the cavern, increasing and decreasing in intensity as Cole's temperament changed. The flames were high now; his failure to bring his daughter over into darkness had caused a cloud of doubt to hover over his legions of minions. But they would obey his orders, they had to. Unless death was desirable to them.

"Luco."

In a bright flash of light, a demon appeared before Cole. His hair, white as the light he appeared with, was highly contrasted by his pure black eyes; his bare torso showed his muscular build.

The demon bowed. "Yes, sire?"

"My plans have failed. Phoebe and her sisters got to Pandora before I expected them to."

"So the rumors are true, my liege?"

"Your rumors are but words among wastes of space." The ring flames flared up even higher, then died down a bit. "You are to attack the Charmed Ones in their home."

"But sire, that is a suicide mission. The Charmed Ones are not the only ones with great power in that house."

"You are right, Luco. But you are serving as a messenger, nothing more. I expect you to fail- as I'd expect any other demon that I'd send. This is all-out war, Luco. Make sure they know that."

"Of course, master."

Luco stood and began to disappear. Cole stopped him with a wave of his hand. Oh, and Luco," he said, "Go after Piper's youngest first. He's the most vulnerable."

Luco nodded and disappeared.

- - - -

Perry thrust his arms forward, palms extended. The vase froze in midair and he cursed, running his hand through his dark hair. He walked over to the frozen vase, which had been only slightly above his head, thanks to his aunt Paige, and took it out of the air.

"I meant to blow it up," he said, turning to his aunt.

"Oh." Paige got up from her seat on the couch and walked over to her nephew. She placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, kiddo. Your mother didn't get her powers quite right until after some time. And besides," she smiled, "you've never let us down in the face of danger." She gave his shoulder a squeeze and left the living room.

"Yeah, but there's a first time for everything," he muttered to himself.

He turned and threw the vase into the air, flicking his wrists quickly. The vase exploded. "Damn it!" he cursed. _I meant to freeze it that time, _he added in his mind.

Adelie took a sip of her coffee. It slid down her throat, leaving a trail of warmth that quickly faded. Paris and Everett sat around her.

Once she had successfully escaped Cole, she had shimmered back to the Manor to the relief of Phoebe and the rest of her newfound family. Once she had calmed down- she _had _just thrown a fireball at her biological father who also was the Source of all evil- Phoebe explained her powers to her and how they grew over time.

_"Powers don't just grow at random," she had said. "They grow stronger and progress. And since you have premonitions, we have something in common."_

One thing that her mother hadn't been able to explain was her demonic powers. Shimmering and fireball conjuration were demonic, after all, and that was half of what Adelie was. She had seen Cole conjure a fireball as well- which meant that Adelie was demon, that some part of her was evil. How could she live with that?

"We need to get to the office," Everett said, folding his copy of the paper up and setting it aside. He took one last drink of his coffee and stood up.

"Are you sure you're all right to go to work?" Paris asked. "I'm sure Everett could cover for you."

Adelie stood up and put on her coat, which she had hanging on the back of her chair. "I'm fine, really. I want to make life as simple as I can anyways."

Everett smiled at Paris as they left together.

"Leo, shouldn't they be back by now?"

Piper walked into the kitchen and immediately poured herself a cup of coffee. Leo wasn't far behind her. "Their cases are special," he said. "Don't you remember how long Paige was gone? It was a week before we saw her again."

"Yes, but that's been forever ago. You'd think they'd upgrade their system in twenty years."

Leo wrapped his arms around Piper's waist and smiled at her. "Why are you so worried about Mel and Peyton? You know they're in good hands."

The eldest Charmed One sighed. "I know that, and I know that this is a good thing. It's just with Cole being back, missing two members of our family might give him the opportunity that he needs."

Leo looked to the heavens. "They're calling."

"All right."

He planted a light kiss on her forehead before he orbed away.

Perry collapsed on the couch. He was more than frustrated with his powers. Of course, no one else knew what he was going through- Paige was right. Whenever he was faced with a demon, his powers didn't fail him. And, Perry began to think, maybe that was the problem.

Perry looked out the window. It was a beautiful day- the bright blue sky was painted with several harmless clouds here and there. As the witch got lost in his thoughts, a blinding white light filled the living room. Perry brought his arms up over his eyes to shield them from the light, but it barely did anything.

The light died down and Perry slowly brought his arms down. Across the room from him, a white haired, black eyed demon smiled at him. Perry thrust his palms forward and a small explosion hit the demon's chest, but did little to no damage.

The demon pulled his arm back and summoned an energy ball, throwing it at Perry. Perry stood and rolled across the floor. The demon launched energy ball after energy ball, a storm of attacks. Perry flicked his wrists and froze and blew them up- but one got past his powers and hit him in the gut. He flew into the grandfather clock and slumped to the ground.

Hearing the noise, Piper, Paige, Phoebe, and Paris ran into the room. "Perry!" yelled Piper

"I've got him," Paige said, orbing to his side. She put her hands over his wound and began to heal him.

Piper flicked her wrists at the demon several times. The blasts, being more powerful than Perry's, sent the demon to his back.

"This is a warning to the Charmed Ones and the Source's daughter," the demon growling, holding his abdomen where Piper's blasts had hit him. "It has become a war now. And He won't stop until you're dead."

The light filled the room again and the demon disappeared.

Perry propped himself up on his elbows. "Did we get him?"

- - - -

The cursor haunted him from the screen, teasing him, picking his brain. But the only thing Everett Halliwell could think about was his half-sister. He had been watching her all morning, going about her work as if nothing had happened in the past two days. As if she wasn't a witch with a Charmed One as a mother and the Source of all evil as a father.

How did she do it? Everett figured that her strength came from somewhere other than her heritage. Growing up and never knowing who your real parents are would change a person, make them stronger than most.

Everett got up from behind his desk and ventured into the bustling open floor of _The Bay Mirror. _As he left his office, he watched Adelie give a folder to her secretary.

He approached her. "Hey, how you holding up?"

Adelie sighed and smiled. "Oh, it's hell when you miss a day of work. I mean, I've got letters pouring in from everywhere and-"

"I didn't mean with work," he interrupted.

"Oh." Adelie paused and looked at the ground. "I'm dealing. It's the only thing I _can _do right now." A seemingly never-ending silence came between them. Finally, Adelie smiled again. "Thanks for asking, Everett."

"Any time."

He watched his half-sister go back into her office before going back into his.

- - - -

"Luco. Demon of light. Disorients his foes before attacking." Paige scanned the Book of Shadows entry again for anything useful, and, deciding that there wasn't anything to help them, closed the Book.

"No vanquishing spell or potion. Must mean he's a low-level demon," Paris said.

Phoebe leaned against the arm of the chair Paris was sitting on. "Cole's obviously pissed."

"I would be too if my daughter was taken from me," Piper said. Phoebe looked at her older sister, tears in her eyes. Realizing what she had said, Piper added, "Sorry, Phoebe, I didn't mean it like-"

Paige walked between them. "We need to be prepared. If what Luco said was true, then we have a lot coming at us."

Piper motioned towards her son and niece. "Make some potions, offensive and defensive. Make enough for everyone in the family to have at least two." Perry and Paris nodded and left the attic.

Phoebe stood up. "I'll call Everett, I'll have him and Adelie come home."

"Do you really think that's necessary?" Piper asked.

"If Cole's planning a war against us, then Adelie needs to be somewhere we can protect her. And the Manor is the best place to do that." Phoebe turned away from her sisters and left the attic.

- - - -

"Sure, mom, we'll be home as soon as we can."

Everett hung up the phone and grabbed his coat as he left the office. He knocked on Adelie's door softly and when she nodded for him to enter, he opened the door. "Come on, we need to go to the Manor," he said. "We have a demon on the loose."

- - - -

"How do we know Luco will come back?" Paris asked as she filled the fifth vile up with another potion. "How do we know he just wasn't a messenger?"

Perry filled a vile up with the potion that was boiling in front of him. Paige sat across from him, and Piper beside him, making some potions herself.

"He _was _a messenger," Piper replied, adding an ingredient to her potion. "But demons don't usually make one-night appearances."

The back door opened and Everett and Adelie came into the kitchen. Phoebe smiled at both of them. "Okay, so who's the demon?" he asked.

Before anyone could reply, Phoebe called out from the living room.

The middle sister lifted into the air and kicked Luco across the face, sending him twirling through the air and landing against the wall. Phoebe landed with a grunt. Luco got up and summoned an energy ball and threw it at her. She held her hand out and channeled his power, sending it into a lamp.

Piper, Paige, Perry, Paris, Everett, and Adelie rushed into the living room. Everett raised his palm and attacked the demon's mind. He clutched his head and fell to his knees. The family looked from Everett to Luco, clearly surprised at the new trick Everett had developed.

The male witch dropped his arm. Luco raised his own and a bright light blinded the family.

"Piper, blow him up!" Paige shouted.

"I can't see anything! I might hit one of you!" she retorted.

Perry scrambled for the potion he had stuck in his pocket; he had made it specially for Luco. He threw it down and the vile broke, releasing a cloud of smoke that smothered the light.

"I still can't see anything, Perry!" Piper shouted.

_Oops, _the teen thought.

"Smoke!" The cloud of smoke disappeared in orbs and revealed Luco.

Piper raised her palms, but before she could blow Luco up, Adelie threw a fireball at him and vanquished him.


End file.
